Published/Revised June 12, 2014 By Sascha Matuszak This post may contain promotional and affiliate links. EuropeUpClose may receive commissions for purchases made through links in this post. Please read our disclosure for more info.

My grandfather gave me a copy of Goethe's Italian Letters before I took the train south from Frankfurt to Lake Garda, in the Sudtirol region of northern Italy. I read as much as I could as I wound through the summer valleys of the Alps that peeked at me as I sped past, finding just enough time to display wildflowers before we rounded another bend, another peak, past another ... Read Full Article